Jordan Spieth stays alive in 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs after rollercoaster Round 4 at BMW Championship

Carding a 72-hole total of 1-over 281 at the 2023 BMW Championship, Jordan Spieth finished outside the top 30 in the 50-man field yet did just enough to remain inside the top 30 (29) of the FedEx Cup standing to qualify for the 2023 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Dropping from 27th to 29th in the season-long race with his play outside Chicago, Spieth was forced to wait and see how fellow bubble boys Denny McCarthy, Justin Rose and Chris Kirk finished their rounds before booking his flight to Atlanta.

Spieth’s final round was a rollercoaster, as expected. Making a double bogey to begin his back nine, Spieth found himself projected to fall outside the number before he got to work. A pair of birdies on 13 and 15 gave him some much-needed breathing room before the wheels began to fall off coming down the difficult homestretch. Bogeys on the final two holes made his wait more nerve wracking, but he was able to sneak through when all was said and done.

If Spieth had fallen on the wrong side of the number, it would mark his fourth absence from the Tour Championship since 2018. Instead, he will begin the proceedings in Atlanta at even par and 10 strokes behind FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler.

Spieth experienced an odd season, even for his standards. He contended at designated events, the WM Phoenix Open and the Arnold Palmer Invitational before nearly winning the Valspar Championship where a late water ball derailed his chances. A Sunday charge alongside Phil Mickelson in the final round of the Masters saw Spieth finish in a share of fourth at the year’s first major championship.

He nearly accomplished a career first the following week at the RBC Heritage where he served as defending champion. Unable to defeat Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff, Spieth settled for runner-up honors and failed to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career.

Injuries began to form at the Wells Fargo Championship where he threw out his back and jammed his wrist. In his last nine events of the 2023 campaign, Spieth missed four cuts, two of which came at historically comfortable spots: the Charles Schwab Challenge and Scottish Open.

He kicked off his FedEx Cup Playoffs in typical Spieth fashion after grabbing the first-round lead at the St. Jude Championship, but he couldn’t sustain the pace over the next 54 holes. Instead he settled for a T6 result. Despite collecting his best finish since his top five at the Memorial Tournament, Spieth did not harness this momentum around Olympia Fields. Although he walked off the course disappointed, Spieth’s year will continue with a chance to end his up-and-down campaign on a high note at the Tour Championship.